FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Encouraging statements on business development through 2025 propelled Sartorius preference shares to the top of the Dax on Thursday. The laboratory equipment manufacturer's papers rose more than 6 percent to 433.20 euros, reaching a high since mid-September. The shares thus ended their recent fluctuations around the 400-euro mark. In the still young year, Sartorius shares have now gained a good 17 percent. As a result, they are now among the top performers in the DAX. Sartorius presented its preliminary figures for the fiscal year on Thursday morning.

Sartorius had recently reacted to increased costs and inflation by raising prices. The Group therefore raised its sales revenue target up to 2025. This should ensure confidence on the market, analyst Richard Vosser of U.S. bank JPMorgan wrote in an initial reaction. However, the earnings (Ebitda) forecast for the current year implies that the consensus estimate is down 6 percent, he added.

In 2023, the lab equipment maker is adjusting to a more subdued pace after another strong prior year with significant sales and earnings growth. The 2022 figures were in line with expectations, but the outlook for 2023 was somewhat weaker than expected, commented Michael Heider of analyst firm Warburg Research. The background to this is also a drop in order intake, after Sartorius had still benefited exceptionally strongly from demand from vaccine manufacturers during the Corona pandemic.

However, analyst Odysseas Manesiotis of Berenberg Bank is not concerned about the weaker order intake at Sartorius. He said that customers are still reducing their high inventories, but Manesiotis expects more orders again from the third quarter onward. In his view, a high short ratio for the sector also speaks in favor of a positive share price reaction; seven percent of all Sartorius shares have been sold short.

Above all, the Biotechnology Division, which is mainly managed under the umbrella of the French subsidiary Sartorius Stedim Biotech, had received a lot of tailwind from the high Covid demand for a long time. In an environment that has meanwhile returned to normal, it felt the impact of the lower orders to a significant extent. Here, UBS expert Michael Leuchten judged that the subsidiary's short-term targets were set cautiously. But he also referred here to confident medium-term targets, which support the valuation of the papers. Stedim shares rose by around 5 percent in Paris in the wake of generally improved investor sentiment./niw/tih/stk